These Untimely Questions
by saphirablossom
Summary: Playing street tennis with his fellow Seigaku regulars was always the best part of Ryoma's summer vacation. Yet it became the start of nothing but pain for him when he was brutally kidnapped. Ryoma realizes being a tennis prodigy has a painful side. Thril
1. Disappearance

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. It belongs to Takeshi Konomi**

**Hello! I'm really happy I could get this little plot idea up and running at last! I'll have to admit, this is my first attempt at a Prince of Tennis fic, and I'm a little worried about the characterization. Please tell me if something's off with anybody! Now then, I guess I'll let you read the story!**

_**These Untimely Questions...**_

_**by saphirablossom**_

**Chapter 1: Disappearance **

_**Introduction/Prologue:**_

Sometimes, when asked a question, it's best to not respond to it. Especially if said question was asked by a certain Fuji Syuusuke. That's a lesson that Echizen Ryoma had learned a while back, when his senpai had asked him if he appreciated Momoshiro Takeshi's company. Naturally, Ryoma had responded by a brief 'yes', not seeing the danger that was about to be brought on by his response. After that, Ryoma spent a whole week with Fuji after him, teasing him about his 'crush' on Momo. Needless to say, never again did Ryoma catch himself answering those trick questions, no matter who they were from.

Yet, even if not answering those types of questions can be put to one's advantage, in some cases, answering them with the one and only truth can also be a necessary option. Even a lifesaving one. That's why, in those few rare cases, answering to Fuji Syuusuke's lethal trick question, 'What did you do yesterday?' can be an experience far more relieving than anything else. At the very least, that's the second lesson about Fuji Syuusuke that Echizen Ryoma ever learned. Though he hadn't counted on having to pay that awful price in order to see the truth. Now, Echizen Ryoma knew that fate was _always _cruel, and he'd long since allowed the notion of 'good luck' to pass him by. Nerves of steel was what the young man had. Yet with persistence, and with the necessary tools, steel can be broken...

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_**Monday, August 3rd; 4:35 P.M.**_:

Echizen Ryoma, young tennis prodigy aged of 15 years, currently attending Seishun Gakuen High School Division made his way towards the street tennis courts. Ryoma and his senpai-tachi were fully enjoying their summer vacation away from school, and they'd decided that for the team's sake, they would practice twice a week on the nearby street tennis courts. After all, when they returned to school, the Kanto Championship would be fast approaching, and they didn't want to see their skills rusted because of slacking.

Even though Ryoma wasn't exactly the type of person to show enthusiastically just how happy he was, unlike his senpai Kikumaru Eiji, his fellow teammates could tell that Ryoma was glad that the old middle school dream team was reunited at last. Indeed, after all his third year senpais had left, and even when Ryoma was appointed team captain during his own third year, he was never truly satisfied. He kept his word and truly had served as Seigaku Middle School's pillar of support, but the now high school freshman that he was was completely satisfied that he could call Tezuka Kunimitsu his captain again. What was even more satisfying was most likely who the eight regulars were. Tezuka Kunimitsu, Fuji Syuusuke, Kikumaru Eiji, Oishi Shuichiro, Kawamura Takashi, Kaidoh Kaoru, Momoshiro Takeshi, and Echizen Ryoma. How relishing it was to know that his was back together with some of his best friends, not to mention the infamous Inui Sadaharu and his vegetable juices from hell. Ryoma could officially say that he was in a very good mood indeed.

Ryoma's mind returned to the present when he heard the familiar smack of a tennis ball against the rough court. He followed the sounds that he knew would lead him to his fellow teammates, carelessly walking with his face hidden by his long lasting white cap. Unfortunately, he never saw the figure in front of him before he collided with the said individual. Lifting his cap from his face so as to apologize, he found himself staring into the eyes of Fudomine's captain, Tachibana Kippei.

"Sorry", Ryoma said bluntly. Tachibana, already knowing that Ryoma wasn't mocking him, due to a few years of experience, simply smiled, letting the latter know that it wasn't a problem.

After bidding good-bye with a wave of his hand, Ryoma made his way onto the adjacent tennis court, where his senpais were all gathered. Setting down his bag and taking off his Seigaku Regular jacket, he took his racket and yelled out to his senpais,

"Oi!". The reaction was almost instantaneous. The first to rush up to him was the ever optimistic Eiji, who jumped onto him, dragging him into a hug, while crying out,

"Nya! Ochibi finally showed up!" Momo quickly followed suit, embracing him in a rough bear hug, while all the others walked up to him and greeted him.

"Echizen! Finally you came!", let out Inui, who was holding his precious data book close to him. It was only when he heard Fuji's greeting that he inwardly smiled.

"Ah, it's good you made it Ryoma-kun." Fuji was the only person, besides his former sensei's granddaughter Ryuzaki Sakuno, to call him Ryoma-kun. The only reason he'd allowed it was because Fuji had endlessly pestered him, wanting permission to call Ryoma by his given name. When at long last he'd given in about a month ago, Fuji had always called him Ryoma-kun. Nothing else. Ryoma couldn't make out why, put he felt his heart flutter slightly whenever Fuji called him that. He wondered why, though he tried not give the thing much thought. For the past year he'd been hanging out with the tennis genius an awful lot. Perhaps that was what it was like, being close friends.

"Ochibi! Answer me!", he heard Eiji yelling, a slight pout forming on his face. Ryoma sighed. He'd spaced out again. He certainly thought he was doing too much of that lately. And so, Ryoma stood up and walked over to the court, ready to face his opponent, Eiji, like they'd all planned out the day before. It wasn't long until the exceedingly scorching sun began to set over the horizon, and Seigaku's regulars knew that they had to head home, though they were in a high moods thanks to the successful training. Even some of Fudomine's regulars had stopped by to watch and talk with the Seigaku team, catching up on the recent news.

It was when they were all talking, like they usually ended up doing after a practice session, that Ryoma began walking away, calling out,

"I'll be back!". Fuji sent him a questioning look and asked rather bluntly,

"Already leaving Ryoma-kun?" Ryoma shook his head and put his cap over his face.

"I'm just going to fetch my tennis bag." With that, Ryoma set off towards the opposite side of the road, where he'd left his bag in a secluded place that only he and unfortunately, his teammates knew of. When he arrived at the said place, he was surprised to find his bag was missing.

"Strange..." he muttered to himself. Why on earth was his bag gone? He was sure he'd left it here, like he always did. He advanced further into the patch of bushes and trees, hoping to see his bag lying somewhere nearby. His hopes were revealed to be true when he spotted his bag a little off to the side from where he currently stood. He still found it odd that his bag had been there. After all, it was rather far into the small grove he'd found. In fact, while he was resting, he'd even wondered if he'd put it to close to the road.

Ryoma sighed, deciding to stop questioning himself. He had his bag, and that was that. He'd just find a better spot next time. He bent down to pick it up off the ground along with his regular's jacket, when a pair of arms brutally grabbed him from behind, one locking itself around his waist, the other tightening around his neck, choking him. Ryoma gasped for air, panicking, attempting to move his arms and legs, to fight off his attacker. It seemed to be working, as Ryoma felt that the grip on his waist was beginning to slack off. He tried to turn around, ready to fend off the person holding him, despite the black spots in his vision due to the lack of oxygen. He truly thought he was going to escape.

Yet fate had a nasty way of proving him wrong, as he unexpectedly felt a damp cloth cover his nose and mouth. Desperate to breath, he had no choice but to inhale the scent that was rapidly forcing him deeper and deeper into obliviation. Ryoma knew, despite his panic, that he was being drugged and weakly slumped against his attacker, feeling all his strength leave him in a wave of fatigue. The last thing he thought of before falling into the unadulterated darkness was his teammates. Each of their faces flashed before his eyes, and as he let out his final conscious breath, he whispered,

"Help me..."

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Fuji Syuusuke worriedly searched for a sign of Ryoma's return, wondering why his favorite kohai was taking so long. Tezuka must have noticed this, as he asked,

"Fuji, what's wrong?" Fuji looked to all his teammates, who stared at him questioningly. He sighed and let his worry pour out.

"Ryoma-kun's taking an awful long time..." The other regulars all caught Fuji's worried tone of voice and knew that if they didn't go and fetch him, Fuji wouldn't be at ease. Sighing deeply, Momo signaled everyone to follow him with a wave of his hand.

"Come on everyone. Let's go find Echizen so Fuji-senpai can stop twitching so badly!" They all chuckled at Momo's attempt to make Fuji stop worrying so much, and eagarly followed him to Ryoma's bag hideout, in Eiji's case, ready to glomp the living daylights out of him.

When they reached the place and searched about, the sight that greeted Seigaku's regulars was not a pleasant one. In fact, it was rather frightening. Fuji took a sharp intake of breath, while the rest of them all looked down, their eyes showing their conflicting emotions. On the ground lay Ryoma's bag, alongside his regular's jacket. His tennis racket lay upon the ground, like an unwanted object. But what frightened them the most was most likely the shoe prints along the ground that showed that some sort of fight or a similar activity had taken place, and the dirt marked white cap that lay forgotten on the ground.

Fuji felt the painful worry and fear snatch at his heart, causing him to feel the lethal pain in his heart.

"Ryoma-kun..." he breathed out desperately, calling out to the stale summer air, as if it alone could tell him what had happened to the young man.

**So, was it all right? I really do hope you all liked it, since this is my first time in the Prince of Tennis fandom. I really don't care whether you flame me or not, so long as you make the flaming constructive criticism. If you took the time to read this, please review! I'd really like to know what you think about it!**


	2. Nerves of Steel

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. Takeshi Konomi does.**

**This is definitely the quickest update I've ever made! I'm just so utterly inspired with this right now that I can't keep myself from writing! In this chapter, you'll discover who the nasty kidnapper is! I'm really pleased that so many people reviewed the first chapter, and I thank you for taking interest in my work. I hope you'll enjoy this second chapter of **_**These Untimely Questions**_**!**

_**To Angelgirl227: **_**I can't believe I'm already busted! XD I hope you won't guess the whole of my plot though! You're half-right, but you'll see why later. **

**Chapter 2: Nerves of Steel**

He was sore in every place possible. His legs had long since gone numb, his arms hung limply from wherever they were, his chest burned with some sort of unknown pain, turning breathing into a surprisingly difficult task. Ryoma had no idea how long he'd been in this position, thinking of nothing but his tired body that ached with each excruciatingly long second that passed by. Ryoma desperately tried to shake away the fuzziness in his mind, attempting to remember what had happened for him to be in such a compromising position. It was when Ryoma found the strength to open his eyes to take in his surroundings that it all rushed back. He lifted his head in surprise, taking in long breaths of air, his lungs greedily taking in all they could.

Ryoma knew he'd been kidnapped, or at the very least taken away by some unknown person.

'Isn't that the same thing?' he thought, as if he were slightly annoyed by his own dullness. He just couldn't believe it. He was a high school freshman for goodness sake! At his age he should be able to properly defend himself! He felt as if he'd gone back to when he was twelve years old. Maybe then being kidnapped might have made some sense, being the small boy he'd been. But now Ryoma towered at a proper height of 1m69, and even though he still kept a lean and seemingly fragile frame, he was definitely strong enough to ward off anyone who defied him.

And yet Ryoma had been unable to stop himself from being kidnapped. How utterly stupid was that? Of course, whoever had kidnapped him had been smart. Ryoma knew he'd been completely taken by surprise, which had given his attacker the necessary time to dominate him and take him down. Yet Ryoma still felt angry that he'd let some random person take him away so easily.

'Damn it!' he cursed silently. Now that the effect of the drug had begun to fade, Ryoma could make out his environment with far more clarity. He was slightly surprised to see that he was tied tightly to a pole, his arms hanging by his wrists which were tied behind him to the pole, as were his ankles, which forced him into a kneeling position. The room, if it could be called one, was dimly light by a solitary light bulb that allowed him to see that there were no windows, only a large amount of accumulated dust. The disgusting moldy scent that filled the place did nothing to reassure him of his location. The only logical answer Ryoma could give was that he was locked away in some sort of basement. There was nothing else to say otherwise. Ryoma sighed.

"What a way to end up in life." he mumbled, his words sharp and angry. The groan of metal was heard, ringing ominously throughout the empty space. Ryoma looked up, searching for the source of the sound. After all, even in such a situation, Echizen Ryoma was still as cool and calculated as ever. A small trap door in the ceiling opened, and down fell a wooden stairway from the small opening. Ryoma watched intently, wanting to get a good look at his kidnapper. Needless to say the individual's identity came as a shock. But what shook him even more was the number of kidnappers he had to deal with.

Walking calmly down the creaking stairway was a seemingly pleased Richard Baker, the former coach of the American West Coast team. Behind him entered a man with messy jet black hair and a crooked nose, smoking a cigarette. When his cruel eyes settled on Ryoma's tied up figure, his smirk grew. Ryoma didn't have the slightest clue of who he was, but he wasn't about to let the occasion to find out pass him by.

So it was that rotten, good for nothing coach that had kidnapped him. Ryoma had just fallen a bit lower in his own esteem. He quite frankly couldn't get any worse than that. Unfortunately, and to Ryoma's great displeasure, Baker interrupted his thoughts with the start of what Ryoma knew was going to be an extremely boring monologue. Or at least that was what he tried telling himself. His ironic thoughts were only a cover-up to hide the truth. Ryoma just didn't want to admit that he was scared.

"Good morning Echizen! It's nice of you to join us in the world of the living. I honestly thought you weren't going to wake up!" Baker announced with a highly sarcastic tone of voice. Ryoma was already irritated by this excuse for a man, and he intended on letting him know.

"Baker-san, instead of telling me completely useless things, for once make good use of your mouth and tell me why you kidnapped me?" Ryoma let out in a provocative voice. It was only after thinking back on his words did he ask himself,

'Why on earth did I call him -san?' Meanwhile, Baker had ceased his useless talk, as Ryoma had so finely called it, and faced Ryoma, staring right into his eyes. Ryoma wasn't the least bit intimidated by this. To be honest, it was the other man's glare that froze him on the spot. He still didn't have the slightest clue as to who he was, but all of a sudden, Ryoma wasn't so eager to find out anymore.

"I see you're one to come right down to business Echizen? Well, it certainly makes my life easier!." Baker suddenly looked between Ryoma and his companion that stood there, glaring at the boy. He saw how Ryoma cringed ever-so slightly beneath the other man's glare. Needless to say, this highly pleased Baker. After all, hostages were supposed to fear their kidnappers. If he himself couldn't draw that emotion out of the boy, then his companion would do it for him. Smirking wickedly, Baker spoke again,

"I see that you have high interest in my friend here Echizen. Why don't I let him introduce himself?" The other man's smirk widened, and somehow Ryoma knew that whatever was coming wasn't going to be good.

"Just so you know, I don't feel the slightest bit of pleasure in meeting you, insolent brat." Ryoma, in normal cases, would have let out a provocative answer as a response, to attempt getting his rival riled up. But in this case, Ryoma had enough judgment to know that it wasn't a good idea.

"Hm, so the brat won't respond? What a way to respect ones elders! You're even worse than those god forsaken rebels that had me thrown out of the tennis team!" At this, Ryoma's ears perked up. So all this _did _have something to do with tennis. He should have figured. What a stupid way Baker had thought of to get revenge. Honestly, he could have avoided kidnapping him. The other man's cold glare intensified and his smirk grew even wider.

"My name is Tominari Kenji, former coach for the ungrateful lot of brats at Fudomine Gakuen Middle School Division. Remember my name well, and respect it. I can't tolerate little brats who think they can surpass their elders!

So this was it. That utterly creepy man was Tominari, the abusive coach from Fudomine? He recalled the time when Tachibana-san, Fudomine's captain, had told all of Seigaku's regulars the story of their fight to play tennis. And here was the man that had caused the Fudomine team all their pain. Ryoma thought of him like a piece of dirt, or perhaps even worse than that. He and Baker certainly made a matching pair. Both were as disgusting as the other. Absolutely pathetic. Tominari broke through his thoughts with his cold and sharp voice,

"Now listen well little brat, because I won't say it twice. From now on, you're ours. We've taken you, and you belong to us. We can take every single type of liberties with you. You're a slave boy little brat. So you'll do as your masters command. I hope you understood little brat, because I won't be so kind if you bend the rules."

At this, Ryoma truly felt his whole inside turn cold. He had the feeling in his guts that told him something worse than bad was going to happen. Ryoma did a good job of hiding his fears, naturally. He wouldn't let those two low-lives experience the pleasure of seeing him afraid.

It was then that Tominari walked up to him, while throwing his cigarette away on the ground, as Baker simply watched from behind glancing down to the ground at something Ryoma couldn't see. In a flash, Tominari was already right in front of him, his ghastly face only inches away from Ryoma's.

"Now then, let's see if you listened little brat." he said in a voice that did nothing to reassure Ryoma of his intentions. And in one swift movement, Tominari grabbed Ryoma's chin and violently kissed him. At first, Ryoma could only comply to the rough treatment his lips were given, as he remained completely shocked by the action. It was only when Tominari forced his tongue past his lips, biting Ryoma's own lips and tongue, that he finally reacted. He bit down hard on the invading appendage, eliciting a pained yell from Tominari, and as the older man backed away from Ryoma, the latter saw the deep red blood running from his captor's mouth and down his jaw line. Tominari chuckled sinisterly.

"That was your test little brat. Like myself and Baker-san thought, you aren't an obedient little bastard, are you?" That was when Ryoma finally saw what Baker had been staring at earlier. The American picked up a whip from the ground that made Ryoma's blood run cold. He could now officially say that he was scared stiff. Tominari walked back up to Ryoma, grabbed his head and sent it smashing into the pole behind him. Trying his best not to make a sound as the pain erupted in his head, making him see white spots in his vision, he heard Tominari say the one sentence that he would remember as the most frightening one in his life,

"They all say you've got nerves of steel little brat. But with persistence, and the right tools, steel can break..."

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_**Tuesday, August 4th; 10:04 A.M.:**_

Taking deep breaths, he leaned partially against the wall, trying to recover from his intense run. Tezuka had told him that his behavior was reckless, but weren't they all being reckless since Ryoma's sudden disappearance? When he'd truly realized that Ryoma hadn't decided to run off, that he'd indeed been kidnapped, Fuji Syuusuke did the one thing he never though he'd do in front of his teammates: he cried. Fuji hadn't been able to control himself last evening inside the Echizen household. The reality of the situation had simply blown him off course.

Though Fuji was the only one who'd cried out of the men, he certainly wasn't the only one highly affected by Ryoma's disappearance. Nanjirou, the legendary tennis player, was reduced to a shaking mass upon the floor, completely devasted by the absence of his only child. Eiji, Oishi, Momo, and Taka sat on the ground, huddled together like terrified dogs, not caring if they were stripped of their pride. Inui had dropped his data book all together and slumped to the floor, staring blankly at nothing, seeing nothing. Kaidoh had simply sat on the ground, shaking, his head in his hands. Ryuzaki-sensei herself was trying her best to keep from sheding tears. Though only Fuji had nearly collapsed on the ground and cried, pounding his fist into the floor board.

The whole situation had gotten far worse when Rinko and Nanako returned home. The two women had brutally erupted into violent tears, and Nanjirou had vainly attempted to comfort his wife. Yet nothing could calm the fear, anger, sadness, and despair that had taken over everyone there. Even contacting the police and being questioned by them hadn't sufficed. They all desperately wanted to retrieve their 'ochibi', no matter the cost. It was the next day that they'd all decided to get together and try to find Ryoma themselves, even if they knew their chances of saving him were small. It was then that Eiji, the normally ever-optomistic person, had let out one of his rare words of great wisdom, his expression somber as he told them what he thought,

"Those whose time has come can't escape their fate. That's how the world works. No one can counter that. However, I know, and I know that all of you do aswell, that Ochibi's time hasn't come yet. That's why we're going to find him. There's a 100 chance of that." Inui nodded, as if he needed to say he completely agreed. They all gave a sign to show they believed in Eiji's words. With that, they'd set off in pair's each checking a different part of Tokyo. Eiji and Oishi went to search the street courts and the surrounding area for any clue as to where he was. Inui and Kaidoh went down by the small river, following it upstream. Momo and Taka went to search by his shop and further into the Ginza district. Fuji and Tezuka went to Tokyo's more remote, ghetto-type area, hoping to find some trace of Ryoma there. Nanjirou and Ryuzaki-sensei had taken the school area, while Nanako and Rinko remained at home, praying he would return.

None of them had any luck. Not one single person had found out anything that could relate in any way to Ryoma. Finding out that they were still at square one had sent a bitter taste to Fuji's mouth. In tennis, and even in everyday life, Fuji was used to being in control. He was used to being able to counter anything tha happened and fix it, because he always had a minimum of control over the situation. Knowing that he had none what so ever in this particular situation just sent all his bottled up emotions to push against his limits. Fuji knew it wasn't their fault, yet he couldn't help being disgusted by the lack of information. That was when he'd decided to run off. He ignored Tezuka's cries of,

"Fuji, stop being reckless! Come back!" He simply ran. And now he was here.

He couldn't explain how much affection he had for their youngest player. Perhaps it was the fact that he was younger than all of them, and it was only his older brother side of him that was coming out. Yet it all felt different then with Yuuta, his real little brother. Deep within him, Fuji knew that the feelings he had for Ryoma were different. How different he didn't know. They were just different. And that difference was the one that was causing him to feel so damned hurt! It was unbearable, so much that he'd rather his heart was ripped out than this!

Fuji slid down the wall of the building he was leaning on. He didn't care about the people around him, he just put his head between his knees, his arms lay limply on his legs as he let the feeling subdue slightly. It felt good to just stare at the darkened ground beneath him. He just needed some time alone to properly calm down. Then he'd feel better and return to where his teammates were. Or perhaps they'd be the ones to come to him. He quite frankly didn't care at the moment. All Fuji really wanted was to find Ryoma. He silently prayed to whatever god was in existence that he'd be able to find the young man. Fuji had never wanted something with such intensity in his entire life. And that was indeed saying something.

**I'm hoping that it was all right! I'm just scared that I'm centering a little too much on Fuji! I know that this is a Ryoma/Fuji fic, but maybe I should get more into what the others feel? I'll try doing that next time. By the way, in case anyone's curious, the whole 'nerves of steel' thing is going to be something that come up often. It's basically one of my 'prompts' or so to speak.**

**In the meantime, please tell me what you thought of it! Reviews are always helpful, especially since I'm a newbie in the Prince of Tennis fandom. That said, thank you for reading! **


	3. With These Broken Wings

Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, Takeshi Konomi does

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis, Takeshi Konomi does.**

**Another update in the span of one week! I'm pretty pleased! In any matter, I'll take the time to respond to some reviews:**

_**Amethyst Sunset: **__I've seen tons of stories with lots of easy-to-guess kidnappers or OCs. Honestly, Baker is neglected (not that we're complaining!) and nobody's even thought of Fudomine's old coach! Tachibana sure made me think of the guy as 'evil'. I'm glad you're enjoying the plot!_

_**luckystar03: **__Poor Ryoma and Fuji, definitely! I'm trying to update fast, so hopefully it'll quench your thirst! Thanks!_

_**whatever: **__I'm truly sorry if I've neglected that part of canon. To be honest, I'm quite new to Prince of Tennis, and I haven't read all the mangas, nor seen all the anime episodes. I, in basic, know what happens throughout the series, and I've seen enough of the anime near the end and in the middle to know what's going on, but there are still a few things I don't know. Again, I'm sorry, and it's helpful to me that you've pointed it out. I'll just say that Taka-san, after pressuring from his fellow regulars, decided to integrate the team._

_**Angelgirl227: **__You're pretty lucky then, that was an awesome guess! Thanks so much for the compliments! I'm really glad you're enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it! And it's good to know some Fuji-centric is ok._

_**ladywatertiger: **__Don't worry, I plan on making sure Fuji acts as much in character as possible. The whole deal with Yuuta certainly helped a lot with this!_

_**Tsubame0104: **__Thank you, I'm glad you like it! And I agree, kidnapping stories with my favorite character coughRyomacough is something I also like, which basically inspired me to write this!_

_**Yuki-chan21: **__Baker must die! Even though personally, I think the threat is Tominari! Don't worry, I'll try to be quick on updates!_

_**Ivy: **__Definitely dang it! Ryoma's not exactly ok, but who would be? I agree, kidnap stories are always thrilling for some reason! Thanks for the compliments!_

_**-Miaclartha Ciatrine'-: **__Thank you, thank you! I'm glad you like it, and to me, making Baker the antagonist was pretty much as canon as you'll get! Tragic events like that? Probably later on in the story. For now I want to develop the Ryoma/Fuji relationship, but some pretty nasty stuff will come up at one point. Thrill pair is definitely the best!!_

**Now then, on with the story:**

**Chapter 3: With These Broken Wings**

_**Sunday, August 9th; 11:17 P.M.:**_

Why? Why me? That's what every person has asked themselves at least once in their lives. Echizen Ryoma, during his entire life, had never experienced a situation where he felt the need to ask himself such a question. Even now, in this situation, he didn't ask himself that. He'd already gone past the stage of self-pity. Ryoma had been a captive for a full week. A full week of the purest and most excruciating torture in existence, his was sure of it.

Each time Tominari made physical advances on him, he was expected to allow himself to be handled, to succumb without resistance. But that was the one thing that Ryoma couldn't accept, no matter the cost. Yet every time he refused and fought, Ryoma was punished severely by the wrath of Baker and his whip, along with the never-ending kicks and punches given by Tominari, so severely that by the time they were finished with him, he was either passed out at best, or drowning in a sea of pain and blood where nothing but these two elements existed. There were other times when Ryoma was drugged, and when he roused, his whole body felt dirty, as if soiled by the worst of sins. As often as it had happened during all of his captivity, Ryoma tried to never wonder what exactly was the sin that had tainted him. Each time he _did _wonder, he caught a glimpse of the answer, and deep down, Ryoma was aware of what it was.

He just refused to face the truth. Why? Because Ryoma, for once, was truly frightened. So frightened that the normally stoic boy lay trembling upon the cold surface of the floor, still tied to the pole he hadn't left for an entire week, though Ryoma was unaware of the time he'd spent within this hell on earth. The battered and broken boy only knew he wanted escape. He wanted to leave this place, even if he died trying, because even death seemed so much more appealing than this damned life, beaten to blood and tears by Baker and Tominari. Ryoma just prayed endlessly for his salvation.

An echoing metallic groan sounded throughout the room as the trap door from the ceiling opened, the wooden staircase coming down. Ryoma, in his half-conscious state, blood seeping from his countless and deep wounds, froze in fear, his breath freezing in his lungs.

'No, please, I'll do anything. Please, not again...' he silently prayed, chanting a mantra of pleas. Yet Ryoma's worst nightmare was materialized again, as it always was. Baker came strutting down with his whip, the symbol of Ryoma's pain, a ghastly smirk across his face, followed by Tominari, cigarette in his mouth, his cruel eyes sending Ryoma into a fit of terror. Ryoma did his best to hide his inner turmoil, even if he couldn't keep his body from trembling like a shaking leaf.

"Good evening Echizen! Hope you slept well!" Let out Baker, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Tominari simply gave a crooked smile, one that made Ryoma's blood run cold, as it hid a far greater danger than he could ever imagine.

"Listen closely little brat, because I won't say it twice." Tominari said in a cold and sharp tone. Of to the side, Baker seemed to be chuckling. Tominari continued,

"If you were ever to find yourself outside of this place, revealing this location, what you were doing here, and who was keeping you here, in other words, honorable Baker-san and myself, would be a _very _bad idea. Especially for your friends and family. It'd be such a shame if something, let's say, _awful _happened to them, right Echizen?"

Ryoma nodded weakly, his strength long gone, and the meager food he was rarely given not helping his weakened state. Tominari smirked.

"Remember Echizen, say one word, any word at all, and those pitiful people you love will be..." and Tominari put a finger to his throat and drew it across his neck in a line. Ryoma knew all too well what that meant. It scared him perhaps even more than anything. Seeing the awaiting faces of Baker and Tominari, Ryoma nodded again.

"Good little brat. At the very least I can say you've served us well, regardless of those wimpy glares you give us." And without another word, Baker walked up to the broken and bloodied tennis prodigy, brandishing his whip, and began to mercilessly beat him, each crack of the whip burning a deep mark into his skin, while Tominari kicked him hard in the chest. As Ryoma felt those darkened spots invade his vision, he felt the disgusting breath that belonged to Tominari blow against his neck as the older man kissed his throat.

"See little brat?" he whispered, "with the right tools, steel _can _break..." And Echizen Ryoma saw no more.

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It was around midnight in Japan, and in the soft moonlight, two cautious figures, belonging to Tezuka Kunimitsu and Momoshiro Takeshi walked the streets of Tokyo's more run down area. It had already been one week, and Momo couldn't recall having slept more than three hours every night since Ryoma's disappearance. Not that Tezuka was better off himself. Each time of the day, his mind seemed to worry over the fate of their youngest player, and even if everyone was taking the events rather harshly, Fuji Syuusuke's behavior almost sent tears to Tezuka's eyes. Never before had Tezuka seen Fuji so devastated. He'd often caught his teammate weeping silently during practice, and not one of them had been able to make Fuji say even one word, and if he ever did, it was never for long.

Tonight, for the sixth consecutive night, they'd separated into pairs to search for Ryoma. Thinking switching the pairs would help them be more efficient, they had Nanjirou and Rinko search Seigaku's area again, Nanako and Ryuzaki-sensei went to the harbor area, Tezuka and Momo walked throughout Tokyo's largest ghetto area yet again, Fuji and Taka went around the Shinjuku area, Eiji and Oishi had suggested searching Tokyo Tower for some reason, and Inui and Kaidoh left Tokyo all together and headed out to Mt. Fuji. Needless to say, they truly hoped they'd find the boy this time. Tezuka, as well as Momo, knew that Fuji most likely wouldn't be able to take too many more failures before breaking down.

Momo and Tezuka, despite it being extremely late, were still concentrated on searching through every possible alley way in the ghetto area, regardless of the fact that staying in such a place was a potential danger. In the darkness, Momo put down the lid of a trash can, sighing in defeat, highly disappointed. Suddenly, a voice hissed out in the darkness,

"Momoshiro! What exactly do you think you're doing?" Momo froze and turned to see Tezuka standing in the street, just beside the entrance to an alley way.

"Well, I thought Echizen might of been hidden in a trash can. You never know what a kidnapper could do to hid his victim." Even though Momo refused to believe that Ryoma was dead, the possibility of finding a corpse was not to be excluded. Momo simply quivered in fear just by imagining his friend dead. Lucky for him, that was when Tezuka's voice of reason reassured him slightly,

"Don't be silly Momoshiro. I highly doubt we'll find Echizen inside a trash can. And I know what you're thinking, but I entirely disagree. Do you feel a gripping cold, that doesn't seem to be physical?" Momo simply shook his head, his eyes locked onto Tezuka's.

"No I don't Tezuka-bouchou."

"Exactly. Then I'm positive Echizen is out there somewhere, alive. He could be severely hurt, but he isn't dead. If he was, we'd know it, deep within our hearts. So stop searching inside trash cans Momoshiro!" Momo sighed, the distant shadow of a smile that had long since disappeared upon his face.

"Yes Tezuka-bouchou." In one swift movement, Momo ventured deeper into the alley, searching everywhere his eyes could reach, though he couldn't exactly make out everything in the lingering darkness supplied by the place. The only way he could hope to clearly see what was on the ground was by crouching down there and continue his search. Lucky for him, Tezuka would most likely point out whatever Momo missed in his searching frenzy. In fact, Momo was so absorbed by whatever it was he was looking at, that he failed to notice the darkened lump at his feet, thus resulting in him tripping over it. Momo let out a small grunt of pain that Tezuka's sharp ears caught on the wind.

"Momoshiro, are you all right?" he called out to his teammate. When Tezuka received no response, he grew slightly worried.

"Oi, Momoshiro! Answer!" he called out again, his voice letting out a hint of his worry. Meanwhile, Momo had something far more important to worry about than Tezuka's rather insistent calls for him. In fact, the sight he laid his eyes on, even dulled by the characteristic darkness that loomed the surrounding area, was literally enough to send tears to his eyes. Tears of worry, tears of relief, silent and barely there tears that ran down Momo's face as he ever so slowly approached the sickeningly unmoving lump that he'd tripped on. Tezuka, having finally found his silly teammate, felt his breath catch in his throat in unspoken emotion when he heard Momo's whispered voice speak the one thing they'd all been wanting back,

"Echizen..." In a split second, Tezuka dove for the ground and didn't waste anytime by picking up their youngest in his arms, carefully holding him to avoid any damage. This action had the effect of bringing Momo back to reality, causing him to scurry after Tezuka out of the alley and into the lit street beyond. What both young men saw quite literally scared them.

Ryoma, the normally stoic boy, still wore his tennis clothes composed of a pure white shirt and kaki shorts, both of which were stained with dried blood, his face marred with bruises and various cuts, his expression, though he was unconscious, was pained, and his breathing heavy and somewhat labored. Tezuka and Momo were at loss for words. Who was the inhuman beast that had even _dared _lay a hand on their friend? And in this sudden silence, where words seemed to be an unknown concept, the deep and troubled voice of Tezuka rang out,

"Momoshiro, let's get Echizen back to the meeting place. Let's move." Momo, who still couldn't find anything to say, simply nodded as he silently followed Tezuka, staring at his friend lying half dead in his captain's arms, watching over him. It was indeed going to be a long night.

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Fuji Syuusuke and Kawamura Takashi solemnly walked the small remainder of the street leading to the Kawamura Sushi shop. No matter how long they'd searched Shinjuku's incredibly huge area, no matter how much persistence the two teammates put into finding Ryoma, they had found not one single thing that could have possibly lead to their youngest friend. Taka, who without a racket, was almost as woeful as Oishi, felt absolutely awful about returning home without the young man. Who knew what suffering Ryoma was going through? Taka simply couldn't bear to imagine it. Losing a friend in such conditions was one of the worst burdens he could possibly have in his heart, and the state Fuji was in didn't help him feel better at all. Ever since Ryoma's disappearance, Fuji had become distant, unreadable, and most of all, seemingly not at all responsive to whatever his teammates had to say.

They all knew Fuji was sad and angry, and though they couldn't tell directly, they knew that his behavior could only mean that. Even now, as Taka lead the way to his father's sushi shop, Fuji lagged behind, obviously sulking, deep in thought. In the current state of things, Taka couldn't have possibly been prepared for the shock awaiting him when he opened the shop's doors. There, lying on a futon, surrounded by all his teammates and his family, was none other than Echizen Ryoma. When the initial shock was recovered, Taka, for a reason he himself didn't know, stepped out of the shop and yelled into the night,

"Fuji! Come quick!" And with that, Taka ran in to go and see Ryoma, leaving the door open behind him.

In Fuji's completely devastated state, he's still managed to hear Taka calling out to him. Why should he care anymore? Why should want to fully reintegrate reality, where his heart endured so much pain, where each breath was like a stab to the chest, where each step he took seemed to make him sick. Fuji truly wondered why he should even consider returning to a world without Echizen Ryoma. As he turned on his heels to enter the shop, the sight that beheld him made his brilliant cerulean eyes open wide as tears rushed up, his breath catching in his throat, the relief, happiness, and slight worry making his voice quiver as he cried out,

"Ryoma!" Fuji ran to his teammate's side, the open door long forgotten as Seigaku's genius looked down in pain and horror at the battered form of their youngest. The dried blood and the pained expression could only mean one thing. Fuji couldn't even find the strength to curse as he felt the tears slide down his face, so much like those that had rushed from the eyes of each person present.

"Ryoma..." Fuji whispered, pain filling his entire being, drowning him in its merciless sea.

**Hope it was good! I personally thought I made it go too fast. Might be just me though. As always, let me know what you think, and thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far!**


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